Adjective "fettle" definition and examples

(Fettle may not be an adjective, but it can be used as an adjective, click here to find out.)

Pronunciation

/ˈfɛt(ə)l/

Definitions and examples

noun

Condition.

'On Thursday, the PGA chief executive gave the impression to the local press that the English bid was in fine fettle, whereas the widespread view is that the race is between Scotland and Wales.'

'Padraig McHugh from Lissatava was in fine fettle too, entertaining the gathering with a ‘sceal’ or two from back the years.'

'The popular lady from Ballyglass, Scardaune was in fine fettle and was delighted that so many friends came along to share in the celebrations.'

'When his serve and his forehand are not in fine fettle there is very little left of Roddick's game.'

'And it pays dividends - you'll see yields increase, your worm and insect populations swell, and get a sense of satisfaction knowing that your soil is in fine fettle.'

'Just as an aside, Perry Forde, despite nicotine withdrawals was in fine fettle and led her team to victory in a riveting match-up led by quizmaster Billy Varley who also had to make the supreme sacrifice.'

'Although hardly a work of sophistication, this section of Dens Park is nevertheless in fine fettle, having been considerably refurbished during the 1990s.'

'But the man who has reignited the ‘Ballyteague Blaze’ certainly looked in fine fettle on final day.'

verb

Trim or clean the rough edges of (a metal casting or a piece of pottery) before firing.

'Likewise, the headlamps are, most unusually, dropped into an aperture in the front wings - one of the few composite panels - and these have to be fettled individually to final fit.'

'The end result was that I spent a couple of hours yesterday fettling me bikes out in the back garden.'

'I couldn't understand why as I had not half an hour earlier fettled it.'

'The GS300 is fettled with an all-aluminium 216 bhp six-cylinder engine that moves the car from nought to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds, and maximum torque of 294Nm is delivered at 3,800 rpm.'

'After all, this car spent a lot of time being fettled on the famous Nürburgring.'

'However all this performance came at a price. I was constantly fettling the car.'

'Last year people travelled from all over including Chamaniox and Lyon for us to fettle their bike and particularly their disc brakes.'

'The budget should easily run to a decent MGB convertible which will have been properly restored at some stage in its life and should be reliable enough for everyday use, providing you can find someone to fettle it for you.'

More definitions

3. Metallurgy. to remove sand from (a casting). to repair the hearth of (an open-hearth furnace).

More examples(as adjective)

"gains can be fettle."

"spirits can be fettle."

Origin

Late Middle English (as a verb in the general sense ‘get ready, prepare’, specifically ‘prepare oneself for battle, gird up’): from dialect fettle ‘strip of material, girdle’, from Old English fetel, of Germanic origin; related to German Fessel ‘chain, band’.

List of Adjectives Alphabetically

This list can help you learn new vocabulary more quickly and be able explore other words more easily.